The Vagina Museum — which is a real institution dedicated to the “the world’s most-misunderstood body part” and not a right-wing parody of feminism — launched a fundraiser for £60K (roughly $77,000 USD) because it was one month away from closing permanently. According to the museum, it was recently prompted to begin paying rent quarterly rather than monthly, and that posed financial difficulties. 

In response to the announcement, both conservatives and gender-critical feminists mocked the museum and suggested the looming closure was an example of “go woke, go broke.” Indeed, one need not visit the gynecology-themed exhibits in London to realize it is “woke.” The Vagina Museum is so incredibly progressive that it doesn’t treat the vagina as an exclusively female organ, stating on its website that “We believe that defining women by anatomy, as so many patriarchal institutions have done before, would be trans-exclusionary.” In social-media posts about the fundraiser, the museum reaffirmed its commitment to gender absurdity: “We realise that being a trans inclusive, LGBT+ affirmative space in this world is not the most lucrative choice. We’re not going to drop that stance. We stand defiant of homophobia, transphobia and patriarchy, even in the face of a flood of abusive replies.” 

Admittedly, I wouldn’t mind if the museum shuttered its doors. But the problem is that, contrary to celebratory proclamations by members of the gender-critical crowd, this isn’t an instance of “go woke, go broke.” The museum reached its initial goal in just a single weekend and will remain open — at least for a bit. By now, the fundraiser has raised nearly $100,000 USD. Perhaps the museum’s sudden obtainment of financial life support should remind us that, although Trump’s electoral victory and executive orders suggest that gender ideology has been wounded in the cultural wars, the activists haven’t yet waved the white flag. We shouldn’t claim a victory yet, and the museum’s fundraiser should remind us that many battles remain in the fight to defeat this hazardous ideology.